In February 2020, my partner and I packed everything and moved to Massachusetts to pursue a tech start-up career. A month later, everything shut down, and my job prospects dried up. I was forced to work part-time at a gas station and started networking around for jobs. Luckily, my first client came when I was casually looking for freelance work.
I got obsessed with growing and working 12+ hour-long days.
It was so overwhelming that I shut down and watched more Netflix than I needed to. What I really needed was to have some clarity on what I was going to do with marketing. I spent a ton of time building my website. Although I ended the year paying someone else to redo my website, I learned so much about SEO, growth, experimenting with landing pages, and the importance of knowing your audience.
I have a supportive life partner.
Honestly, I don’t know how some entrepreneurs can do this without one. Several single freelancers enjoy being untethered and can take more significant risks. There’s less worry about cleaning the room, taking our dog, or working late. They think of it as “one less thing to worry about.”
Ultimately, it depends on how you function. I got lucky with my partner. She supports me financially, emotionally, and physically. Cleaning the apartment can be a shared task. I have someone to hike with whenever I need a mental break. I have a second set of eyes who sees things as a consumer.
Fortunately (or unfortunately), her parents are also small business owners. Although she has little interest in becoming an entrepreneur, she knows the struggles of starting a business.
I had to understand my worth and value.
Most beginning entrepreneurs charge as if they were working an hourly wage. After marketing, overhead, and software, I found out that it’s almost impossible to charge a lower rate. On Clubhouse, I’ve discovered that women of color are more likely to feel less worthy.
The more I work on my business, the more I value my time, value, and personal freedom. Entrepreneurship is intriguing because I can do things the way that I want. I had to learn how to charge clients higher. In return, I learned how to spend more time with my family and my personal health.
It’s one thing to learn a ton. It’s another to just do it.
I’ve spent dozens of hours learning about SEO, email marketing, and launching campaigns. Instead of hoarding all this information, I should have been applying it to my own business. SEO helped me grow my website from a measly 12 to 100+ visitors a month.
Many times, I’ve almost bought bandaid solutions from “marketing gurus” that could accelerate business. A few times, I purchased e-books for short courses to copy and regurgitate information on LinkedIn and Facebook.
There is more authority to be built when you share personally researched information. I believe my most exciting information comes from using event marketing to generate leads. I wrote the content doesn’t target my ideal audience, but I wouldn’t know until I made that mistake.
A lot of fear in asking for help.
When I started this business, I was hesitant to let people know what I was up to. I was afraid to be judged for trying to build something for myself during a pandemic.
When I was networking through my family, they were expecting expensive presents for Christmas. They overinflate how much I’m making, and it’s discouraging. I had to tell them that I’m still in the early stages of my business and don’t make enough money to quit my part-time job.
I also found myself burying myself in work to mask my insecurities. I used to pride myself on working hard. But it sticks me in a rut and makes me numb to everything — social media pressures you to show your best self.
What I’ve learned from growing my business so far:
- If you have a partner going through this, be open with them, and ask for support. It’s not easy for either of you, and communication gets more important the busier you get.
- Seriously, just do it. Emailing a prospect that, “I read that this works” isn’t as good as, “I’d done that, and I know how to execute.”
- Overcome asking for help. It might be awkward, but to do this long-term, you need a way to find support.
